Everybody went to the Pakistani candy store in Govanhill, Glasgow to purchase mithai when there was a life occasion to have fun.
My grandfather, Fateh Ali, went alongside in January 1977 when his grandson was born – his eighth grandchild. He would go two extra instances, in February and March, to purchase extra mitha and have fun the beginning of two extra grandsons.
On the third go to, the bemused worker and pal, Bashir Ahmed, jokingly stated, “Fateh Ali, tera khar tay munday da mee penda?” (“Is it raining boys in your home?”).
Did Fateh Ali reward Allah for his blessings that day and each day for all that he had achieved?
A great distance from house
The story that I do know of my nana, my maternal grandfather, is one which many Scottish immigrants will recognise.
As one among six siblings, he was born in Chak 482 GB Jagranwan in rural Faisalabad (previously Lyallpur) in Pakistan.
Villages like his had been renamed by the British within the colonial period utilizing a four-part naming system. Some variations exist, however usually, they had been named ‘Chak (quantity) (letters) (village title)’.
My grandfather travelled hundreds of kilometres to what’s now Mumbai in India the place he boarded a ship which might finally take him to Glasgow in 1947.
Illiterate, unable to talk English and with borrowed cash, he left behind his 5 siblings, spouse and two youngsters, not understanding when he would see them subsequent. He was an financial migrant, travelling to Scotland to earn a residing so he may return to his chak and supply for his household.
He shared a flat with fellow South Asian immigrants, in Oxford Road in Glasgow, to maintain prices down and for the help of a well-known language, meals and faith. Like my nana, many of those males may have settled down in Glasgow and had households. They’ll have handed down their very own tales of these early days.
A South Asian salesman in rural Scotland
Initially, my nana earned his residing in Scotland taking samples of garments from door-to-door in rural communities and on the islands. He received the samples from fellow South Asian immigrant wholesalers who imported garments. Islands he visited embrace the Isle of Bute, Arran, Millport and he travelled as far afield as Campbelltown.
I image my nana along with his giant suitcase politely knocking on doorways. To locals, he turned referred to as “Johnny”. If in case you have household who lived on the isles within the late Nineteen Forties-50s, they may bear in mind the dapper, brown-skinned man in his 20s. To many, he may have been the primary particular person of color that they had met.
Fateh Ali (left) and his brother Yaqub Ali.
My late uncle, Ashaque Ali, recalled that when he was a schoolboy, he would accompany his dad on his visits to Arran in the course of the summer season holidays within the Fifties. He would emulate him along with his personal little suitcase. The case would go on the again of the bike and Uncle Ashaque (or my aunt sometimes) would sit in entrance of him.
My aunt, Anwar Ghafur stated of her instances on Arran, “It was very nice with the ocean. Everybody was so good, each time we went in (to native homes) we’d be provided a cup of tea and a biscuit.”
Settling down in Glasgow
Nana finally made sufficient cash from his gross sales to begin a partnership with a pal in a grocery retailer within the Gorbals space of Glasgow in 1959. By that point, he had moved his household to Glasgow as he missed them a lot.
Fateh Ali in his store on Caledonia Road in Glasgow.
The hours had been lengthy and arduous. Uncle Ashaque defined that this was out of necessity. The shop would solely get busy as soon as the opposite shops had closed and there have been no different choices for the locals. He can be open from 8am to midnight. Ashaque would be a part of him after faculty completed and they might stroll house collectively after midnight.
My uncle, Dr Ashfaq Ali at his commencement.
Training was necessary to my nana. Did he see it as a stepping stone to success? Or did his personal lack of schooling gasoline a need that his youngsters ought to know extra and do higher? Regardless of the reply was, it labored. The day got here when my nana would see one among his youngsters graduate. From drugs no much less, fulfilling near-enough each South Asian immigrant’s dream of getting a physician within the household.
Maybe due to that early difficult interval, my nana all the time needed his youngsters to be near him. Even now, over 45 years after he left us, a lot of his youngsters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren reside in and round Glasgow.
Scotland’s South Asian immigrant tales
If your loved ones historical past crossed with my nana, my household and I might welcome any data.
We have to seize the tales of first-generation immigrants whereas we nonetheless can. We shouldn’t neglect their sacrifices and contributions to current Scottish historical past. Begin capturing these reminiscences from family members earlier than we lose them without end, like most of the ones our household has misplaced.
Concerning the Creator
Tariq Ali is a digital specialist within the third sector and might be contacted at @aliboomaye on Twitter / Instagram or by electronic mail at nana@tariqali.co.uk
Scotland’s South Asian heritage
On the paths of Scotland’s South Asian heritage? South Asian Heritage is rooted in Scotland’s historical past. Discover extra of Scotland’s South Asian connections in our blogs.
Banner picture: Fateh Ali in his store in Caledonia Road in Glasgow
